The Housekeeper's Daughter

The Housekeeper's Daughter
Directed by Hal Roach
Produced by Hal Roach
Written by Donald Henderson Clarke (novel)
Rian James
Gordon Douglas
Jack Jevne
Claude Martin
Starring Joan Bennett
Adolphe Menjou
John Hubbard
Music by Amedeo De Filippi
Lucien Moraweck
Cinematography Norbert Brodine
Edited by William H. Ziegler
Production
company
Hal Roach Studios
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
  • October 26, 1939 (1939-10-26)
Running time
 80 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Housekeeper's Daughter is a 1939 comedy film directed and produced by Hal Roach. The film stars Joan Bennett, Adolphe Menjou and John Hubbard. The screenplay was written by Rian James, Gordon Douglas, Jack Jevne and Claude Martin, based on a novel by Donald Henderson Clarke.

Plot

Hilda decides to quit being a gun moll and go visit her mother, who is the housekeeper for the Randall family. The Randall's go on vacation, leaving son Robert behind to embark upon a career as a reporter. Soon after, Benny, a meek flower vendor, follows showgirl Gladys Fontaine when Floyd, a mob chieftan, forces her to join him on his houseboat. Fearing for Gladys' life, Benny puts poison in a cup of coffee intended for Floyd, but Gladys drinks it instead, and Benny watches in horror as Floyd tosses the dead girl's body into the river. The next morning, Robert reads about Gladys' death and decides to cover the story, attaching himself to ace criminal reporter Deakon Maxwell and photographer Ed O'Malley. At a police interrogation session, they witness Benny confess to Gladys' murder and Robert, taking pity on the little man, befriends him. After a night of drinking on the town with Deakon and Ed, Benny suggests to the drunken Robert that he call his editor and tell him that Gladys was thrown from a houseboat. Waking up the next morning with no memory of the evening's events, Robert finds that his story has scooped the other newspapers and that he is being hailed as a hero. Robert's story leads Floyd to believe that the reporter has the goods on him, and he orders him eliminated. As the gang converges on the Randall house, Deakon and Ed are shooting fireworks from the roof and, believing that the fireworks are the sound of gun shots, the gangsters open fire. As the mobsters begin dropping dead from Benny's poisoned coffee, the police come to the rescue and Robert announces his engagement to Hilda.

Cast

External links


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